Roseborne (REWRITE IN PROGRESS)
by Remnant Novella
Summary: A mere fairy-tale. A song & dance. A story better left aside in favor of the more practical explanation. These are the words of the denizens of Remnant. But the truth lurks deep underground, in a city long forgotten to the passage of time. Only one can be granted Eyes. Only one can end the Nightmare. A Huntress must sacrifice all that she has, lest the beasts return Man to Dust.
1. CHAPTER 1 - Prelude

**See the trailer for this FanFiction here: (Youtube)/** _ **watch?v=87_BzJ7dr5A**_

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter One: " **Prelude"**_

* * *

 _As time began, at the sun's first rise,  
_ _The moon no longer ruled the skies,  
_ _With a watchful gaze, the cosmos sings,  
_ _"Grant us eyes" and burn our strings,  
_ _Mere puppets of gods and mighty power,  
_ _Who turned their backs at our darkest hour,  
_ _The city was razed, and left to the scourge,  
_ _From Yharnam, whence the Grimm emerge._

There are many theories as to how the world of Remnant came to be, all of which stem from the legends, stories and fairy-tales that a crooked old man might tell to his children around a campfire. The most widely accepted hypothesis being of man's rise from nought but Dust; which they soon began to harness as a means to defend against the fiendish, vicious monsters that have come to be known as the Creatures of Grimm. It is unknown as to why the beasts were named as such; perhaps it was a means to help distinguish between the more naturally dangerous predators of the wild, and the nightmarish, black demons that roamed the lands? Or maybe the reasoning is much more trivial, and served only as a means to emphasise the danger of this particular species throughout the many bestiaries, tales and annals written on them in the ancient times.

Either way, the Grimm remain mostly a mystery, as does their origin. To put it in perspective, Man still barely has a grasp on what exactly _Dust_ is, let alone everything else, and merely accepts this lack of knowledge as the norm. Decades... Even centuries of research, and the Human race is no closer to discovering anything about the genesis of the world they inhabit, let alone the emergence of their most valued means of defense.

Though, there is one story in particular that goes unnoticed, obscured by the more... practical explanations provided by most every other tale in existence, and that is the one of Dreams and Nightmares, Gods and Worship, and possibly most importantly... _One of blood_.

A simple poem for the narrow minded is what it is often described as. A mere song & dance, nothing more, nothing less. There is no evidence, nor any sign of the city mentioned in the short stanza. There is no proof of the gods that are credited to exist in the verse. In fact, even the story of Dust is much easier to ascertain than that of the underground city of Yharnam.

Oh how foolish they are, to think so little of a clearly presented truth.

 _"Oh Kos. Or should I say, Kosm?... Do you hear our prayers, as you once did for the vacuous Rom? Grant us Eyes, Grant us Eyes, so that our frail minds may ascend, and be cured of our beastly idiocy"_

* * *

 **AN : Welcome to my first FanFiction! I'm in absolute love with both RWBY and Bloodborne, and so when this idea popped into my head the other night, I simply had to act upon it. I am aware that many crossovers for these two exist, but they are all very similar in my opinion. Therefore, I really wanted to bring something new to the table with this fic; meaning I took some creative liberties with both RWBY and Bloodborne's lore.**

 **Be sure to leave a review! I love to hear (See?) what you guys think of what I write. It helps me to not only improve, but also see what you like and dislike about my writing style or the direction of the fic. So with that being said... Criticize as much as humanly possible!**


	2. CHAPTER 2 - The Waking World

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews already, I honestly wasn't expecting it. This isn't even mentioning the fact that people are already following the fic, so thanks to you guys, too! Quick shoutout to Thendtoall, who is unfortunately a Guest (So I can't reply directly); Don't worry, the first chapter was just a Prelude intended to set the scene, hence why it was short. Regardless, I hope the decently long length of this one makes up for it :D**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter Two: " **The Waking World"**_

* * *

 _"I should think you still have dreams? Well, when next you slumber, give some thought; to the hunt... and it's purpose" ~ **Old Hunter Djura**_

Blood. It was _everywhere_ ; it coated the walls, glazed the cobble she stood upon, even the moon was not safe from it's crimson hue. The red cloaked girl stood in a strange city, devoid of any life, and worst of all, any sound. It was deathly silent. As she took a step forward, the impact of her boots on the blood slicked road she walked upon squelched and echoed all around, so much so that she felt like the entirety of the abandoned city could hear. She could _feel_ a presence... her neck hairs stood on end, her hands shook profusely, her paranoia only rising more and more the further into the derelict metropolis she traveled. She felt like she was being watched, no matter where she stepped. The girl couldn't help but admire the architecture as she walked, however; Large spires rose from the rooftops, lanterns hung from each doorway that she passed, releasing a sweet and calming scent, and the Gothic, black buildings complimented the general structure of the city nicely. This wasn't even mentioning the beautiful, towering clock-tower in the distance that stood above every other building, the structure emitting an admittedly eerie green light that seemed to originate from within the clock itself

It wasn't long until she reached a small plaza with a decently sized fountain placed in the middle. Scanning the entirety of the area, her eyes rested on what appeared to be an overturned carriage; a primitive form of transport to be sure, so why was it here? She held nothing but questions at this point, and no-one was around to give her the answers. Standing silently for a moment, the young Huntress was caught off guard when she heard the unmistakable sound of flowing liquid resonating from the concrete spring that sat in the center of the square. After all, she had heard nought but the squelch of blood and harrowing muteness since she had arrived here. This caused another question to rise in her mind; how did she even come to appear in this city? She had no memory of it at all. _Odd_. Shaking her head, she resolved to approach the fountain, and was shocked to find that water still flowed over the edges of the fount. After all, from what she had seen before reaching her current position, the age-old state of the city had caused her to assume that nothing at all was operational.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, her throat began to feel dry. This puzzled the Huntress greatly; How had this come to be? Moments ago, her pharynx had felt satiated, as though she had just drunk a _whole_ litre of water, in fact. As scared as the girl was, she figured that stopping for a drink wouldn't hurt her, besides, she wouldn't be able to find out where she was if she was to die of thirst beforehand.

Cupping her hands, she bent over the fountain, placing her hand in the water in order to scoop up some of the perfect, crystal clear water. As her hands became submerged, the Huntress became astonished at how _cold_ and _smooth_ the liquid felt. Even without drinking any of this perfect water, she felt refreshed, which only caused her throat to shout out for sustenance all the more. Over and over, the girl drank from her cupped hands, reveling in the unique, sweet taste of the water, a factor that only seemed to increase with each sip that she took.

Her eyes closed, she couldn't help but smile. She felt at ease, she felt... Stronger. More powerful, as thought the liquid had taken away all of her burdens and fears, and only continued to do so each time she drank.

And then, almost as suddenly as her throat had dried up moments earlier, the sweet taste became that of the taste of copper. But, still, it tasted so _good_ to the girl nonetheless. She couldn't stop herself from indulging in the liquid, her eyes remaining shut as the 'water' lost it's consistency; becoming thicker and heavier, almost coagulated in form. Upon noticing this change, the Huntress' eyes flicked open, and what she saw made her scream. She dropped the _blood_ from her cupped hands immediately, frantically wiping her mouth and coughing in an attempt to purge all of the undesirable fluid from her system. How much had she drank? How much had she indulged in? She began to feel physically sick, horribly so; and began to heave, falling to her knees onto the blood-soaked cobbles as she began to vomit up all that had drank, the thickness and coppery taste only substantiated as each torrent of blood fell from her mouth.

It took a good few minutes for her to calm, her coughing fits coming to a halt as she simply began to spit what remained of the fluid from her mouth. A wave of tears fell from her face as she whimpered in despair. The taste remained, and there was no way to be rid of it. How had this happened? She swore that moments earlier, she had in fact been drinking water. _'Don't think about it'_ She thought. After all, she didn't want to dwell on how long she must have been drinking blood instead.

Slowly pushing up from the floor, she gagged upon realizing that both her tights and hands were plastered with blood, although this no longer bothered her. She was too busy sobbing to even care. She just wanted to go home at this point; Ruby was not one to be scared so easily, even at her still fairly young age; but whatever this was, it was too much for her unenlightened mind to comprehend, let alone accept as reality. _"This can't be real."_ She told herself desperately, the despair in her voice evident as her sobbing calmed. _"It can't be."_

But things would only get worse from here on out.

Raising her head to get her bearings again, her face fell further. The sky was now just as sickly and blood-slaked as the ground she stood on. Looking down slowly, her eyes fell to the carriage that she had spotted earlier; which now had a huge splatter of gore on it's side. Her gaze followed the trail further down the carriage, the girl squealing as she spotted the dead and horrifically mutilated horse lying still in front of it. It's rib-cage was in clear view, the flesh of the creature having partly rotted into a misshapen pile of mush on the floor. Upon staring for merely a moment, Ruby began to back up quickly, just wanting to run and get away from there as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the Beowolf that had snuck behind her didn't quite agree with it's prey trying to escape.

With no time to retaliate, dodge or even draw Crescent Rose, The beast grabbed the girl by the neck, squeezing hard enough to cause her Aura to run dry almost immediately; almost as though it didn't exist. With nothing to protect her now, she began choking profusely, beginning to black out very slowly as she kicked out in front of her in a futile attempt to cause the creature to drop her. Sadly, this only angered it.

Raising it's other huge hand, the monster's claws began to grow out from it's fingers to a length that made the young reaper all the more fearful as her vision began to fail her. And then there was the ripping sound; The tearing of her flesh as the monstrous claws pierced her abdomen. Strangely, though, she felt no pain, none at all. As she felt the blood rush from her body, however, she stopped her struggle, deciding that it was pointless now. So this is how she was to die? Not as a Huntress valiantly saving the life of another, but as a scared little girl in a strange, infested city? All she could feel was sadness as the last of her vision failed her, and her body fell limp in the beast's grasp.

And then her eyes opened almost instantly afterwards, Yang's lilac eyes and long, blonde hair being the first things she awoke to.

 _"Ruby!? Are you alright!? Speak to me!"_ The blonde shook her sister violently. She had been doing so for the past minute or so, in fact. Team RWBY had been asleep soundly in their dorm when Ruby had begun to convulse. Yang was the first to have woken, followed by Blake and Weiss, both of whom also surrounded Ruby's bunk as the convulsions stopped, now fully awake.

The reaper broke down into tears once again, now in the real world, shooting up to a sitting position as she frantically pulled Yang into a large hug, unable to even explain what had happened for the moment as both Blake and Weiss looked on in genuine concern and fear for the girl.

As she sobbed, her thoughts kept drifting back to what she had seen. A mental scar had slashed across her mind now... A scar that would only continue to grow as the days passed by.

* * *

 **End Note : Well! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just as a quick note; while I would love to reply to your reviews directly, FanFiction seems to have an issue at the moment that prevents me from viewing reviews on the site. However, I am still able to read them via e-mail, so don't be afraid to review regardless!**


	3. CHAPTER 3 - Revelation

**AN : So, this story is growing a little faster than I anticipated, which makes me very happy! I would like to once again thank people for reviewing! I love to see your thoughts. A notable review is from someone named Student (Who also appeared as a Guest) who had a theory on how the story is going to turn out. Unfortunately, my friend, I am not that predictable ;P, although I like to see people theorizing as to the direction this fic will take. ****Anyway, enough talking, onto Chapter 3!**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter Three:_ **_"Revelation"_**

* * *

 _"Oh, I know very well; How the secrets beckon so sweetly._ _Only an honest death will cure you now." ~ **Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower**_

It was raining again. It seemed to be commonplace lately. The heavens had not once failed to open every night since the reaper's little... Incident. It was almost as if the sky was taunting her; dangling the answers to her increasingly frequent nightmares right in front of her tired, sunken eyes. It became harder each night to sleep. It seemed that each time she drifted off, the dreams worsened, and perhaps most unfavorably of all of all, there was no way for her to wake from them until they were over.

Furthermore, her usual bubbly & innocent personality had shattered itself in a matter of mere days. She refused to speak most of the time, her grades had been dropping, and more recently, she found herself not even wanting to leave her dorm. Yang had tried her very best to look after her sister, but it was all for nought. Even Blake, who was normally very reserved, took a lot of time out of her own schedule to give the young huntress some attention; only to be pushed away just like everyone else. Weiss hadn't been much help either - It's not like the girl hadn't tried to aid Ruby with... Whatever it was she was going through, but everything she did only seemed to make the reaper worse. Even Glynda Goodwich struggled to diagnose what was going on in Ruby's mind; and the fact that the girl refused to speak of it likely didn't help with the situation.

And so, as the raindrops lightly tapped on the window of their dorm, Ruby merely remained seated in her place on the windowsill, staring out with a blank expression. It was almost time to sleep again. While on the other nights, this had caused her to break down into tears; she couldn't even bring herself to feel afraid anymore. It was simply a reality she had come to accept, a torture that she would have to continue to endure for the rest of her life, as far as she was concerned.

She didn't even stir from her trance when Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her a little. The droplets were so pretty... How they slid down the window with seemingly no care in the world-

 _"Ruby!"_

Her big sister somehow managed to break the girl's reverie with a meager raise of tone; something which would have not been successful on any other day, at any other moment, yet this time, her stare was broken, and the reaper turned her head to look at her sister. The blonde could only look back at her little sibling with saddened expression; She looked to be in complete ruin.

 _"Ozpin asked to see you, sis. Please go talk to him."_ She would pause, sighing. _" **Please** "_

Ruby didn't respond, but did acknowledge what was said. After all; any excuse not to sleep was good enough for her. Remaining as silent as ever, the girl headed for the dormitory door, pulling it open as she grabbed her cloak on the way out, wrapping it around her to keep warm. Looking towards the window one last time, her eyes widened into a terrified stare as the friendly raindrops that she had been observing moments earlier had suddenly taken on the dark, crimson hue that now tormented her in her dreaming world. Backing out quickly, the Huntress slammed the door shut, leaving her sister even more worried than before. Leaning against the flat of the door, she took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. ' _It's not real. It's not. Don't panic._ ' Her body felt like it had frozen over as soon as she began her trek to the headmaster's office, which was likely a result of her now shaken nerves and a rising symptom of sickness. She could barely walk straight she was so tired from her sleepless nights.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Ruby's hand curled shakily around the handle of the office door, her strength barely allowing her to push it open as she practically stumbled inside. Ozpin, who was sat down comfortably at his desk with a mug of coffee to his side, and his cane in one hand, observed the poor girl as she kept her eyes to the ground, the cloak she had once worn so proudly, now merely reduced to a glorified blanket as she held it to herself tightly. She was in worse state than the headmaster had anticipated; it appeared as though she could only barely walk.

The reaper placed herself down on the chair opposite him, her silvered eyes not even meeting his gaze as she stared profusely at the ground below, a forlorn, and frankly depressing look on her face all the while.

Ozpin cleared his throat; a pang of sympathy overcoming him as he seriously reconsidered even having this conversation. But he had no choice. It was either he told her everything, or she continued to live this way until her mind could handle it no longer. At the soft throat-clearing, Ruby did raise her head slightly, now staring at the desk as Ozpin poured another cup of coffee from the jug at his side, sliding it towards the girl. She was hesitant to partake in any form of interaction, and she _hated_ drinking _anything,_ but her body gave in first, her throat begging for sustenance as it had done in her first nightmare a week prior. Slowly reaching for the cup, she held it tightly in her hands, the warmth soaking through as she brought it closer to herself, her senses and body beginning to warm as she took a short, small sip, half expecting to have to spit out a gush of blood. When she didn't taste the familiar copper, however, she sighed in such a desperate manner of relief, taking another bigger sip before placing the cup in her lap.

Ozpin's face remained stern and serious as he watched the girl. Surely she couldn't be the one? And even if she was, how would her frail mind even be able to comprehend... Let alone survive the inevitable horrors that awaited her? She looked on the verge of death simply from the dreams. And those were only the first step.

Oh how he wished he had asked for her sooner. Oh well, he had to be sure. One hundred percent positive. Or he would be merely sending the poor child to her death needlessly; although she seemed to already be halfway there herself right now.

" _Miss Rose... I understand your current situation is quite dire. It is a shame that one with such great potential and goals such as yourself must suffer this... horrible ailment that has no doubt caused you a great deal of pain._ " He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his own coffee as he watched Ruby take another gulp of hers.

" _And there is no doubt in my mind that you have many questions about what you have seen in these... 'Dreams' of yours._ "

At the word, Ruby raised her head hopefully, making eye contact with someone for the first time in days, her eyes actually lighting up with joy. She was finally going to receive the answers she was looking for. Ones that explained the blood... The city... The horrible Grimm that seemed to stalk her throughout every nightmare she endured. Her greatest fear was that of the unknown, and she knew, deep down, that finding out exactly what was happening to her would put her mind at ease somewhat. Besides, she wasn't exactly in a position to decline even the slightest amount of help, as she was running out of time. She was practically killing herself with neglect.

But upon seeing the unwavering expression that Ozpin held, her own mood immediately dropped back to it's norm. The headmaster took a deep breath, clutching the handle of his cane tightly, his knuckles whitening as he prepared himself for what was to come.

" _I think... I think it maybe easier to simply show you, first._ "


	4. CHAPTER 4 - Hunger

**AN** **: Sorry guys, but all of your theories thus far - while they are completely valid and logical - have been incorrect. But continue to post your theories in the reviews! It makes me smile when I see someone come up with a theory that they are so sure about, mainly because I love to see that my story is causing you to think xD. So, with that, I say not worry yourself; I have spent a long time planning this fic out, and I trust that it will not underwhelm. While you may have more questions than answers right now, you can be sure as hell all you need to know will be revealed in due time.**

 **Anyway, I'm sure that this chapter should serve as a great follow-up to the last chapter. Although not in a way you likely expected :D**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 4:_ **_"Hunger"_**

* * *

 _"Our thirst for blood satiates us, soothes our fears... Seek the old blood. But beware, the frailty of men; Their wills are weak, minds young." ~ **Vicar Amelia**_

It burned.

The flames within her were particularly violent tonight. The inferno that raged within the emptiness that sat in place of the Fall Maiden's power felt as though it was cooking her both mentally and physically. It was an insatiable hunger that -while being present since the day she had attacked Amber- was noticeably craving it's other half much more than usual.

Why? Cinder couldn't say. As far as she could theorize, it could be due to her being in such close proximity to the Maiden for a prolonged period of time, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure. What she did know, however, is that she wanted it to stop ever so desperately. She needn't be reminded about how incomplete she truly was without the remainder of the power, especially now that she was so... _so_ close to claiming the rest of it.

She had sent Emerald and Mercury to 'tour' the academy in order to get an accurate idea of the layout of the school. She had also reminded them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious; Upon learning that the Maiden was indeed here, the pyromancer knew that she wouldn't be easy to find, and that the idea of a hidden room somewhere was not exactly far-fetched. Now, all she had left to do was wait, and suffer through the phantom pain.

Or at least, this is what she would have done had she not spotted Ruby pass her open dorm moments earlier, seemingly a ragged mess.

Cinder was not very familiar with the girl, although she had met with her a couple of times. Most notably when she had installed the virus inside of Beacon's CCT tower; the young Huntress had admittedly fared quite well against her rather short onslaught. While any other time the vixen would have simply disposed of her, she had infiltrated the tower for a purpose, and had neither the time nor patience at that moment to continue her assault. Especially since Ironwood had decided to turn up, too. However, she couldn't help but feel some pity; what on Remnant had caused the red hooded girl to neglect herself so? Curiosity eventually got the best of her, and she began to follow behind quietly and carefully, each of her steps silent as a she rounded a corner, noticing her target enter the headmaster's office.

Sighing slightly at the inconvenience, she snuck right up to the door, placing an ear against the thick oak as she began to listen in on them both.

" _Very interesting..._ " She murmured to herself as she heard Ozpin rise from his seat after his rather intriguing, albeit short and one-sided conversation. " _I wonder what he has to show her?_ "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

As Ozpin stood himself next to the large window overlooking Beacon's courtyard far down below, Ruby shuffled over next to him, her hood now over her face as she too looked down. She was confused, however, when she saw nothing but the rain, along with the shimmer of moonlight on the ground that reflected off of the wet leaves and grass located in the academy's very well cultivated garden.

" _It is quite fascinating what the normal human eye is able to perceive. It is surprisingly very little._ " He took another moment to pause and take a sip of his coffee. " _Even with all of the power that our brains possess, it refuses to acknowledge the existence of that which it cannot comprehend. It even goes as far as to extinguish all perception that your body may have of these things, which, coincidentally, includes the ability to see, hear, smell and even touch that which you are mentally and physically unable to understand._ "

Ruby kept her gaze centered on the garden below, eyeing a small, red rose that stood out among the greenery as he spoke. The moon seemed to shine upon it more than any of the flora nearby... Almost as though it was supposed to symbolize something. But what? As she thought this and listened to what Ozpin was saying, she found that her curiosity spiked. What was he getting at? Despite wanting him to get to the point, she found herself unable to speak for the time-being, and so was forced to listen.

The headmaster leaned forward on his cane, taking yet another deep breath.

" _So tell me, Ruby Rose... What do **you** see as you look down upon the academy from such a height?_ "

" _Hmm?_ " The girl mustered up the single, confused murmur, breaking what seemed to be her personal curse of silence as she leered at Ozpin, who used his head to gesture for her to look back outside. With this, her vacant eyes shifted focus back to the Academy's exterior. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Nothing at all. And for that alone, Ruby was grateful. What did the headmaster want her to see? The questions just keep piling up by the second.

" _So?_ " Ozpin retorted, awaiting an answer.

" _Nothing, just rain. And the ground. And stuff._ " Ruby shrugged. She didn't know what to say, but she had a feeling that the answer she gave was not what the headmaster was looking for.

" _Peer harder. With intent. You have the Insight -and therefore the capability- to see the unseen; your nightmares have made right sure of that... assuming they have indeed chosen **you** , of course._"

Who had chosen her? What was going on? Two more queries that she had to add to her ever growing repository. Once again, though, she couldn't bring herself to ask these questions to the man. Instead, she squinted, and _really_ focused; She wasn't sure what Ozpin had meant by _'peer with intent'_ , but regardless, she tried her very hardest to see what the headmaster wanted her to see.

She was just about to give up when the rain slowly began to darken once again, as it had done earlier; the droplets turning to small but thick pools of blood as they collided with the window of Ozpin's office. She shook her head, moving to rub her eyes before she was stopped by Ozpin, whom had grabbed her arm.

" _Do not try to unsee it. Keep watching._ " He spoke in a serious tone, slowly releasing his grasp on her as she snapped her head back to the window again.

The Huntress did as she was told, still terrified by the sight of the murky liquid. And that's when she saw it.

It was barely distinguishable, barely an outline on the horizon that was made easier to see due to the rain colliding with it's humongous form, but it was there... And it was very, very real.

Ruby gasped, backing up from the window as she bumped into Ozpin's desk, knocking over his coffee but never once averting her gaze from the magnificent sight. It was both terrifying, but also beautiful at the same time; how it floated there, in front of the moon, it's appendages hovering around it gracefully as it remained in the same position, seemingly unmoving. At that moment, Ruby didn't know how to feel.

" _W...Wh...What is that!?_ " She pointed towards it, her finger shaking as she pushed on the desk with her spare hand, helping her to remain standing. She didn't know what to do, what to think, or what to even say... But she knew that -for every second that her eyes remained gaping at the thing- the creature was staring back.

" _That, Miss Rose, is the source of your nightmares_ "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Cinder had been listening with intent, the large, thick doors doing a surprisingly terrible job at keeping their voices inside of the room. Oh, how she wanted to enter herself, and see what it was that the girl was so shocked and seemingly disturbed by. It was all very intriguing; the source of her nightmares? The entire lecture on the workings of the human mind? The capability to see the unseen? Now _that_ is a power that she wouldn't mind possessing. It all had to mean something, and Cinder intended to find out exactly what Ruby had learned inside of that room.

One way or another.


	5. CHAPTER 5 - Secrets

**AN : So, things are beginning to reveal themselves. Lets get straight into Chapter 5! This is a direct continuation from Chapter 4, so no time-skips for this one.**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 5: **"Secrets"**_

* * *

 _"O' Flora, of the moon. O' little ones, O' fleeting will of the ancients... Let the hunter be safe, let her find comfort..._ " ~ **Plain Doll**

She pushed herself away from the door, a sinister smirk on her face. She couldn't stand listening in to the whole conversation after all; someone would surely notice. So, in preparation for Ruby's departure from the office, Cinder would head back towards her dorm. Although the power within her yearned to be whole again, she was much more interested in what the little reaper had learned and the power that _she_ had... It all sounded _very_ interesting indeed. Besides; she had her underlings tasked on finding the Maiden for now, And a small interrogation would keep her aptly pre-occupied in the meantime.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

She just couldn't stop _staring_.

Every part of her being was _begging_ her to look away, to run, to deny and forget all that she had seen; but her own, fragile willpower alone was what kept her in the room. She had so... _so_ many questions. It seemed as though every time a query was answered, ten more took it's place; not dissimilar to the heads of a Hydra from some of the books she had read in the past. The source of her nightmares? How? What even was that thing? She wanted to articulate her thoughts into words, but couldn't bring herself to, once again.

Luckily, Ozpin seemed to sense her bewilderment. It was to be expected, after all.

" _I know this is all a lot to take in. If you need a moment before I continue, simply say so._ " He would nod towards the chair in front of his desk, offering her a seat. He knew that she had seen enough, and he honestly didn't want to put too much onto her at any one time... But if the Presence of the Moon _truly_ wanted _her_ specifically, she would have to suffer through it. There was no choice.

Ruby, grateful for the offer, managed to break her gaze away from the outside as she approached the chair, her cloak still wrapped firmly around her as she took a seat once again. Her coffee was still warm, and so she grabbed the mug again, taking another sip before placing it back down. As Ozpin sat opposite, he pulled a thick handkerchief from his pocket, wiping up the drink that she had spilled upon having the truth revealed to her. His face was much less stern now, and more sympathetic; which didn't give Ruby much hope for what was to come.

With the way Ruby was sat, still silent, The headmaster assumed that she was ready for the remainder of his explanation... Although one could never _possibly_ be prepared for this sort of knowledge.

" _So..._ " He would trail off as he finished wiping up the coffee from his desk, sliding the cloth back into his pocket, " _Where do I begin?_ "

Ruby gazed at him silently for awhile as he leant forward on the desk, his hands clasped together seemingly staring back. It took the girl a while to realize that he was waiting for her to ask a question.

" _Oh. Um..._ " She thought long and hard. She had so many that she didn't know which to ask first. Her huge amount of fatigue likely didn't help her thought process, either.

" _O...Okay. So those nightmares... You said earlier that the dreams saw to it that I had Insight? What did you mean?_ "

Ozpin smirked. It was an extremely good question to begin with. He was also glad due to the fact that he hoped the answer could put her mind somewhat at ease... Albeit not in a good way, likely.

" _This may seem a little unorthodox... Heck, what am I saying? After what you have just seen, I doubt that you have any reason to disbelieve it._ " The headmaster cleared his throat, completely finished his coffee before beginning to pour another as he continued.

" _The... Presence, as I have begun to call it; that thing you saw in front of the moon. It has chosen you as it's-_ " He stopped himself. It would probably be best if she wasn't to know. Not yet "... _It has chosen you, and has forced those dreams on you in order to prepare you, both mentally and physically, for what is to come._ "

He finished pouring his coffee, offering to refill Ruby's cup afterwards. She declined, and he placed the jug back down next to him. The girl was a little suspicious of how Ozpin cut himself off, but was too tired & exhausted to really care. She just wanted answers.

" _Those nightmares were the only way for the Presence to grant you the Insight you needed to fulfill your task. Unfortunately... the more Insight you gained, the worse the dreams would become. No doubt that with each passing day, you began to notice strange things more and more, correct?_ "

Ruby nodded, remembering back to the day after the first dream she had experienced, noticing small inconsistencies that she had failed to pay attention to before, things she merely passed off as her eyes playing tricks or as coincidence; The outside being slightly dimmer than usual, The extremely brief chanting that she had heard during class, and even the black figures that she would occasionally see out of the corners of her eyes. And as Ozpin said, as the week went by, things took a more sinister turn, changing from strange to full blown terrifying.

" _I assume that, during your dreams, you found yourself in a strange city devoid of any life, too. The Presence is training your mind for the future, granting you the eyes you need to do what it wants of you. But The Presence is emotionless, just like the Grimm; if it's victim is driven insane during the process, then so be it._ "

Ruby's eyes widened, slowly looking back towards the window. The creature was still there. Watching. Waiting. Her nerves settled in again; while it was a sight to behold a few minutes ago, it was now something to be feared. Suddenly, she felt a hand fall over hers, and returned her view to look at the headmaster again, who closed his eyes as he took a breath, clearly not happy about the whole situation.

" _Which is why you must pull through. You mustn't let it defeat you in this way. When the time comes for you to undertake it's assignment, you, and only you, will know of it. But until then, you must stay sane, you must continue to dream. I would hate to see it claim another in the manner it has many times before._ "

All that was said so far only discouraged and worried the Huntress further. However, she would keep herself in tact, for Yang. For her team. Hell, even for Ozpin; Instead of feeling helpless, she now had a purpose, an obligation, and now that she knew that the torture wasn't for nought, she also felt hope. For the first time in a whole week, she smiled; although just a little. This small gesture seemed to comfort Ozpin, too.

" _You are a strong girl, Ruby. And you are brave; two traits that are vital towards the making of a powerful Huntress. You will succeed, and you will come out unscathed. I trust with all of my heart that you will._ "

She was speechless... But grateful nonetheless. Very grateful. However, she had one last question that she simply _needed_ to ask.

" _Sir, I know it might be none of my business and all, but how do you know all of this?_ "

Ozpin frowned, sighing, " _You will learn in due time, Miss Rose_ "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Ruby closed the door behind her carefully, looking up and down the hallway to ensure that no-one was there to question why she was up this hour. Ozpin had told her not to mention the conversation to anyone; not because it would cause any form of chaos, but simply because people would simply laugh at her like she was an idiot. It was all very unbelievable, after all. The headmaster had told her to return to his office when she knew that it was 'time', and she had promised to do so. While she was nervous about all she had seen and heard -courtesy of the Headmaster- The reaper felt like a huge burden had being lifted from her. She now knew what was the cause of her strife, and the reasoning behind it, and while the news wasn't exactly comforting to her, it still provided an explanation, and that was enough.

She felt happier now, and Cinder noticed this as the girl neared her, heading to her room further down the hallway. The Huntress' head was up, her walk was less slouched, and her expression was much, _much_ less depressing to look at.

As she was about to pass by, Cinder stepped in front of her, smiling down as her mouth curved into an unsettling smile.

" _Hello, red. Mind if we have ourselves a little chat?_ "


	6. CHAPTER 6 - Harmful Truths

**AN : Oh dear, Cinder. And so you've made your first mistake. I hope you enjoy this chapter, guys! A quick shoutout to someone who posted a review as a guest: While I agree that the Great One's are sympathetic by nature... I did mention that I would take some liberties with both RWBY and Bloodborne's lore. I'd even argue that what I have in store is much more exciting than what you would get were I completely staying true to the original stories, simply because things are much more unpredictable this way, forcing you to theorize and think for yourself.**

 **Don't worry yourself, though. The main conventions will remain the same; as will the logic of each universe. This makes it possible to interpret what will happen, but not entirely, since I am manipulating the original lore to some extent :D**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 6: **"Harmful Truths"**_

* * *

 _"Without fear in our hearts, we're little different from the beasts themselves." ~ **Eileen the Crow**_

Little red was stubborn, Cinder had to give her that.

Another razor-edged shard of glass shot towards Ruby, lodging into the wall next to her; which caused the girl to flinch once again with a squeal. She was practically pinned against the drywall by the many keen edges lodged into her cloak and loose sections of her clothes, which effectively prevented her from moving altogether... let alone escaping. It seemed that, with each minuscule movement that the young reaper made, another needle-like fragment was sent her way. What did this woman want? Why was she doing this?

It was barely a few moments earlier that the orange-eyed girl had stopped the Huntress in the hallway, and then proceeded without warning to throw her into the dorm. She hadn't even had time to recover from the sudden hostility or process what was going on before the onslaught had begun.

And now she was here, struggling to even move due to how the glass had stuck her in place. It left her in an awkward position to be sure, and felt extremely uncomfortable, the shards digging into her joints whenever she so much as twitched. This night just never seemed to end for her; it was almost like a nightmare in it's own right.

" _Here is how this is going to work..._ " Cinder spoke up in a tone that was intended to belittle Ruby as no more than a child; and judging by the expression she received in response, it seemed to have worked. " _You are going to tell me everything that the headmaster revealed to you; And every time you lie to me, I'm going to slowly... painfully wear your down your Aura until I'm satisfied that you have given me the truth._ " There was a small pause as the vixen stepped in front of the reaper, who grunted as she attempted to pull away from the wall again.

" _And believe me; I have a knack for knowing when someone is being a dishonest little brat_ " Cinder lifted her hand in front of Ruby's face, the small ember within it quickly growing to become a small ball of fire that danced around her palm. Ruby winced at this, the sudden spark of light disorientating the girl as she blinked to fix her vision. The fear hit her all over again; the horror that she had felt growing increasingly more prevalent as the nights went on returned as she panicked in this seemingly dire situation. If this woman wanted to know what the young Huntress had learned... It meant that she had seen some of the truth within the tales, too.

Or maybe she was just curious. _Dangerously_ curious.

" _So... Let's begin._ " The pyromancer slowly waved her hand back and forth in front of Ruby, allowing the searing heat of the flame in her palm to frolic over her skin to serve as a warning to not anger her. The girl attempted to lean back from the tiny blaze, but the unorthodox restraints that held her disagreed with the motion.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Yang was worried.

Her sister had been gone for a good two hours by this point, and the remainder of the reaper's team had started to become increasingly concerned for her. Ozpin had assured Yang prior to meeting Ruby that the conversation wouldn't take long... So either the professor was lying, which the blonde doubted very much, or something had gone horribly wrong. Or, more likely, she was just being stupid and unnecessarily skeptical.

Either way, she couldn't just sit there worrying forever. She just wanted to ensure that Ruby was safe, with her own eyes; especially after what had happened over the past week. It was probably just a stupid hunch and nothing more, but sitting and waiting wasn't exactly proving very fruitful or accomplishing anything, and so going out to search for her sister seemed like the logical thing to do.

The blonde rose from her sitting position on her bed, proceeding to grab her Ember Celica from atop the nightstand as she secured them over her wrists. Meanwhile, Blake gave Yang a look of bewilderment.

" _What are you doing?_ " She asked, pushing herself up on her arm as she lowered the book she had been reading to keep herself occupied while they waited for their leader. " _She's probably still talking to Ozpin, he must have asked to see her personally for a good reason._ " Blake continued, hoping to get her point across. There was no point in worrying at this time, and even less of a point straining themselves in a search for the girl, when she was likely still conversing with the Headmaster anyway.

" _Yeah well, She's my little sis. Worst case scenario; I walk in on the conversation and get sent back out or something. No biggie._ " Yang responded, ensuring that her gauntlets were properly tightened as she began her stroll towards the door.

" _Wait_ " Weiss spoke up, causing Yang to stop midway through reaching for the door-handle, looking back over her shoulder at the heiress. " _Then why are you taking your weapons? Are you expecting a fight or something?_ " It was a serious question, but Weiss couldn't help but chuckle a little at her final line. After all; no-one else was up, and there were sure as hell no Grimm near the academy, so why would she need them?

Yang shrugged, pulling open the door as she placed one foot on the other side. " _I don't know. I just find it's always better to be prepared, I guess._ "

With that, she stepped outside, the door closing behind her as she began her journey to the Headmaster's office. She just hoped her sister was alright; She had felt so useless to Ruby in the past couple of days. What could she have done? She had tried getting her to talk about her dreams and such, and while it had succeeded earlier in the week, by Wednesday she simply flat out refused to even mention them. Everything that she had done to try and help was simply rejected immediately... Almost like she had completely given up hope; something she never thought she would say about her younger sibling.

It had tore her apart inside watching the girl's steady decline from a happy, optimistic teen to a complete wreck of a human being in such a short period of time; and the fact that she couldn't do anything to help only hurt her more and more.

She only hoped that Ozpin was having more success.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Sitting at his desk -his chair turned to face the window- Ozpin stared thoughtfully at the Moon Presence. The rain had stopped, thankfully, and so the only sounds that remained were that of the clockwork gears spread among the rafters of the large tower that his office sat atop of. His gaze never once left the creature; It had been a long time since he had seen it last... A very, very long time. It had never occurred to him until now, but the monster appeared to be much more ragged and scarred since last he had communed with it, and he had a good idea as to why; which in turn explained it's need for a new Huntsman.

Caught up in his thoughts, the headmaster almost failed to notice the familiar, heavy footsteps that headed towards his desk. He had heard no door open nor close, which meant it could only be one person.

He swiveled his chair back around, leaning forward on his cane as his old friend took a seat in the chair opposite, his ragged, outdated garments releasing a scent that Ozpin had grew all all too accustomed to as of many years ago. The unmistakable stench of blood.

" _Ah, Gehrman... It's been awhile._ "


	7. CHAPTER 7 - Ashes

**AN : Things are going to start heating up this chapter, both literally and figuratively.**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 7: **"Ashes"**_

* * *

" _Secrets are secrets for a reason; and some do not wish to see them uncovered... Especially when the secrets are particularly unseemly._ " ~ **Simon the Harrowed**

As flames licked over the outer edges of her Aura again, Ruby grimaced as the barrier slowly weakened with each passing moment that the fire was held in such close proximity to her. It had gotten to the point where she began to ever so slightly feel the burning heat of the embers on her skin; With some of the sparks that emitted from atop the mini inferno managing to singe the edges of her hair, causing the scent of burning to circulate around the room.

" _That's the second time you've lied to me, Red. Let's not try for a third... Or things will only get worse_ "

Ruby stared up at the woman pleadingly, but the eyes that gazed back at her showed no hint of remorse or sympathy. In fact, the prevalent smirk on the pyromancer's face seemed to only grow wider the longer this whole escapade went on... Almost like she was _enjoying_ it. It made Ruby feel sick; how could anyone, human or faunus, bare even the _sight_ of torture such as this? Let alone enact it on others themselves. After all she had been through the past week, all of the sadness and depression... Ozpin had finally given her some hope. Hope that was quickly being extinguished by the familiar stranger that still stood before her.

" _Please... Just let me go! It's not even import-_ " Cinder stopped the young girl's plead with a swift slap across the face, the impact sending the reaper's head to the side as she silenced almost immediately, trying to gather what exactly had just happened.

" _Keep your mouth shut! You don't speak unless I tell you to, understand?_ " The pyromancer retorted, the woman's calm facade breaking momentarily as her anger flooded through; the emptiness inside her was still calling for it's lost half, and it wasn't exactly helping the vixen keep her cool in this situation. The flames burst up from her palm again, burning brighter and more aggressively than her prior conjurings.

" _So; when I **tell you** to answer a question, **you do so**. What. Are. These. Nightmares?_ " Her voice and tone would be dripping with sinister intent, as well as a malicious sort of anger that made Ruby genuinely afraid of what the woman would do to her should she play the fool for a moment longer. As Ozpin said; there couldn't be any harm in explaining at least _some_ of the things he had told her; the woman likely wouldn't believe it anyway-

She stopped her train of thought at that moment, the fear rising inside of her as she began shaking in fear; even despite the heat of the embers that flicked close to her in Cinder's hand. Regardless of whether she told the truth or not, if Cinder didn't believe her -which, as the headmaster had said, she very likely wouldn't- it simply meant more pain for the young reaper. Then again... There was no other choice. Either she told the truth for the slim chance of respite, or she continued to lie; and the latter didn't seem like an option.

The Huntress took a raspy breath, even her voice quivering at the mere _presence_ of the pyromancer.

" _I-I swear I'll tell the truth_ " She stuttered. " _Please d-don't hurt me anymore_ "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Ozpin had being staring at the old hunter for a long while... He knew why the man was here, or more specifically; whom he was here for. While it was not yet time for Ruby's departure; Gehrman would have arrived in Remnant not long ago, his appearance coinciding with appearance of the Moon Presence itself. His task was simple; To watch over the candidate until the time for departure came... And then guide them to the city of Yharnam.

" _Ozpin. It is indeed good to see you again. Killing beasts... It is tiring for an age old huntsman like myself._ " he would pause to cough, seemingly heaving up his chest for a good while before his fit calmed. " _It is rare that I get moments of respite, especially with those I consider friends._ "

Gherman, The First Hunter. A legend by all accounts; although one that was lost & forgotten almost as quickly as the tales of the city he was bound to protect. Even now, he was only kept alive by the Paleblood coursing throughout his veins, and the will of the Presence itself. Sat before the headmaster was the godfather of modern Huntsman; _everything_ from fighting styles, to the applications of Dust, and even the tendency of huntsman to wear light, weightless garb in place of armor... _All_ of this originated from his original teachings and methods, passed down to others since what felt like the beginning of time. Although the techniques had naturally evolved since, everything was still based off his principles; something that could definitely be admired greatly.

Still, Ozpin was astounded to even _see_ his old mentor again, let alone alive; he could tell that almost every movement was a struggle for the man, his ancient bones threatening to give way under their own weight whenever he even so much as shifted in his seat.

This by no means meant, however, that the Hunter wasn't a force to be reckoned with.

Ozpin poured the man a cup of tea from a separate jug that sat brewing next to the coffee. Pushing the porcelain mug forwards; the man grabbed it at lightning speed, greedily downing it's boiling contents seemingly without a single care for the scalding that likely burned his throat in his throat. The headmaster could just feel the old man's Aura resonating and pulsing; spreading it's influence all around his office and possibly beyond... His lifeforce was so immense and powerful, that it is possible that the man could rival even the Maidens. Alone... And it was awe inspiring.

" _I do often miss you, too. Although I cannot imagine what it is like to still guard that wretched place..._ " He paused, thinking back to the time he had spent there himself. A time he often wished he could forget about entirely. " _I assume that you know who has been chosen this time?_ " he asked.

Gehrman nodded gravely, sympathetic towards what he always considered to be an unfortunate victim, despite his face showing no expression. The Presence had shown him a vision of the Huntress moments before transporting him here. " _The girl. She is unusually young... Worryingly so. But I sense some familiarity there; as though I have met her before, and my gut tells me that she is more than capable._ "

Ozpin didn't quite know what he was talking about, and merely passed it off as an odd coincidence. After all, it is easy to see the similar features of others and mistake them for someone else... Or in this case, someone the Old Hunter knew.

" _I hope you are right. I couldn't bear seeing such a pure soul become tainted. Although I hold out hope that she will return safely, at the very least."_

The headmaster knew that he was lying to himself. There was slim to none chance of her return, in all honesty... But it's not something that Ozpin wanted to think about. The most he could do now was pray that, when the time came for the Hunt to begin, that she would be ready.

" _But let's not dwell on all this just yet... How have you been? Is your academy finding success? I must say, it is an impressive structure_ " Gehrman complimented, hoping to change the subject to something less taxing on the headmaster's emotions.

 ** _/-/-/-/-/_**

The elevator simply refused to work.

Yang had being trying for a good few minutes now, the button remaining lit despite the lift itself not even seeming to function. She lightly sent her fist into the wall opposite as she paced the hallway. This all felt so wrong to her, and her worry was only growing by the second. What was happening up there? Why was the only practical means of accessing the office effectively blocked? She was much too tired to take the stairs. The blonde grew increasingly suspicious the more that she thought into it, and by this point; all she wanted was a glimpse of her sibling's trademark red cloak, even just for a moment, so that her mind could be put at ease knowing the girl was safe.

Unfortunately, no such luxury came, even after she waited another five minutes for the irritating piece of machinery to finally decide it wanted to stop screwing her around.

' _Great_ ' she thought to herself, scratching the back of her neck. " _Just perfect._ "

Deciding that waiting here was in fact useless just as useless than waiting in her team's dorm; Yang made up her mind to head back. Perhaps she would wake the next day and find her sister sleeping in her bunk, without having a single issue the whole night? It was wishful thinking, but she could only hope and pray.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Cinder's usual arrogant demeanor was now that of someone both extremely intrigued, but equally concerned. There was no way that little red could be telling the truth; it was... Impossible. Completely ridiculous.

But as she looked down at the girl, who stared back with pleading eyes, the pyromancer saw not even a slight hint of a lie within them. Besides, she couldn't exactly take the story the reaper had told for granted as a mere fairy-tale; She had, after all, stolen the power of a Maiden; Someone whom originated from an equally absurd tale. But she still wasn't sure despite this... The nightmares, the... Creature in front of the moon, it all seemed like something that only a child's mind could come up with.

Turning her back to her captive, Cinder folded her arms, thinking back to what little she had overheard earlier at the office door. " _The power to see the unseen_ " she murmured to herself, her grin returning at the thought.

" _So, Red. **Assuming** what you say is indeed the truth... How do I go about 'seeing the unseen' myself?_ "


	8. CHAPTER 8 - Preparation

**AN : Well, the award for longest review on this fic to date goes to "Touhou is Life" - congrats! xD.**

 **Sorry for the long wait for this one; YouTube and college have kept me quite busy, and is likely to continue to do so over the next few weeks, which means for the time being, updates will be much less frequent. Sorry guys!**

 **Anyway, things will _really_ start getting juicy from here on out. Ruby's Insight allows her to do much more than see the unseen... But you won't find out what these things are just yet. Ha!**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 8_ **: _"Preparation"_**

* * *

 _"...We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open..." ~ **Provost Willem**_

Thin rays of sunlight peeked through the gap in the curtains, casting a faded streak a cross the carpet of Team RWBY's dorm.

It was a surprisingly sunny and warm considering it was currently the middle of autumn, where it was usually quite cold, especially around Beacon Academy. The singing of the birds made it's way around the confines of the school grounds, echoing off the walls as the sound continued to travel unimpeded.

Ruby was the first to wake. Her eyes fluttered open with a yawn as her arms stretched up above her, cracking her back as she sat up straight. She could have swore she had seen something near the door, but her vision had adjusted to the light causing whatever it was to vanish. While normally she would have shrugged it off as being the result of literally just waking up, the talk with Ozpin the previous night made her doubt that was the case.

She took a deep breath as she remembered the pain she had endured in Cinder's dorm not a few hours ago. She was forced to tell the woman everything she knew, and threatened that if she spoke, she'd be killed without hesitation. Great, another thing on her mind to worry about.

But for the moment, the reaper sat, looking around at her sleeping teammates. Yang, of course, was snoring like an animal on the bunk above, but that didn't at all bother her; she was just as bad at home. She felt so much better today; she hadn't suffered a nightmare last night, and the revelations that Ozpin provided her put her at a strange sort of ease. Throwing her legs out from her covers, she rubbed hey eyes, yawning a quietly as she looked around. ' _Wow_ ' she murmured, ' _That sleep really did me good_ '.

Pushing herself from her bunk, Ruby snuck over to the bathroom, being careful not to wake her teammates. Entering and closing the door behind her, she approached the mirror; proceeding to sigh in relief when she noticed that the horrible, black bags from underneath her eyes had in-fact mostly vanished. She didn't look healthy again by any means, but it was a great start.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

" _Wait... We're just stopping? Right now? But all of the preparation... All of the setup-_ "

Emerald stopped herself before she ended up ranting. Angering Cinder was very stupid idea, and she didn't intend to be at the receiving end of the power she had helped the woman obtain. Besides, if it wasn't for her, she'd still be scrounging around on the streets.

" _Ahh, but you fail to understand; I've recently learned about something much more... Interesting. And believe me, the source that I obtained this information from was **very** reliable; after I... **persuaded** them, that is._ "

Upon hearing this, Emerald and Mercury glanced at each-other quickly. Mercury personally wondered whom the poor soul was, but realized that it didn't matter; If Cinder had a new plan, the assassin was all for it - he thirsted after some action after being idle for so long. Emerald was less sure about all of this, though. It had been almost a whole three months since the beginning of this large-scale scheme; and to just drop it seemed both impractical and honestly, a little odd. Nonetheless, the thief was intrigued.

" _So; What **is** our new objective?_ "

Cinder curled her mouth into an ominous grin, standing from her sitting position on her bed as she made for the door. She reached for the handle, opening it slightly as she prepared herself for the day ahead.

" _It will all become clearly very shortly._ "

As Cinder shut the door behind her, Emerald sighed in annoyance. She had worked her ass of completing her tasks, ensuring that everything was going to plan... And now her boss shrugged the whole thing off as though all of her achievements were the outcomes of pointless errands, and nothing more. She had never felt so betrayed and used; but it was a feeling she was used to. Cinder was a manipulator... But she wasn't a liar; if she believed that this new plan was better, Emerald was willing to forgive her.

Mercury on the other hand didn't seem to care. Then again, he never cared about anything. At the current time, he was making some adjustments to his bionic legs, the blue energy in the tiny reactors pulsating as she continued to twist the screw near his knee-area. Feeling the stare, Mercury looked up, smiling sarcastically. He could tell when Emerald was annoyed; she always had a irritated scowl across her face.

" _ **Jeez** , Em. You should be happy that we might **actually** get some action out of this new scheme, rather than doing some arbitrary scouting duties._ "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

Gehrman sat alone in the courtyard of the Academy, reveling in the sunlight that bathed the entire area in which he rested. It had been too long since he had last feasted his eyes on the blue skies and white clouds of Remnant; and each time felt like a new experience. His memory of the past was often very foggy, and so whenever the Hunter was set upon his task in the world above, he always struggled to comprehend the beauty of the world after spending so many centuries in the dark, grim city of Yharnam, where the sun never shone and peace was a distant, intangible impossibility.

He could sense the presence of the beasts that had leaked into this world; and there were many more than usual due to his absence from the wretched metropolis. With no-one down there to stem the tide, there was nothing stopping the Creatures of Grimm from leaking out from their subterranean confines... And while Gehrman could only do so much down their alone - he had, for centuries, guarded the borders between the Nightmare and the Waking World admirably.

The old man chuckled at the pet names he had given to each place; as though they were separate realms. Of course, the Nightmare was merely what he had taken to calling Yharnam itself, and he had decided to stick to the dreaming theme when naming the world above, too.

Sighing, he stood from the bench upon which he sat as he noticed many of the students becoming active, some beginning to head to class. Now was the time for the preparation to begin. Ozpin had established him as a new teacher for the time being, replacing Professor Port (Who had been sent on vacation) until the Presence was to call upon the Chosen. The poor Huntress would need a special sort of training if she was to survive what awaited her, and Gehrman was the one who must provide it, lest she fall to madness.

Ensuring that his age-old trusted weapon was secure on his belt, he began limping towards the entrance of the Combat Education Wing, a section of the school that contained all of the classrooms dedicated to the teachings of martial arts and disciplines. He cursed his peg-leg; It was the result of a stupid mistake during a past fight, but was crippling nonetheless. This didn't mean he wasn't more than capable in combat, however.

 **/-/-/-/-/**

" _We're going to be late, you dolt!_ " Weiss lightly slapped Ruby across the back of the head. Earlier in the week, the heiress wouldn't have even thought to do something like that, but the reaper seemed much happier today, and so she decided that it wouldn't hurt. After all, it was evident that the girl's mood had improved; She had actually cleaned herself up, dressed much less sloppily, and she was finally interacting with her team.

Thankfully, she was right.

" _Hey!_ " She rubbed the back of her head, " _We won't be late on my watch!... I just need to find my pin_ " She continued to rummage through the wardrobe while Yang looked on, shaking her head. In all honesty, no-one in the dorm had seen her pin for a good while, not since the second day of Ruby's nightmares.

" _Don't worry about it. We will all help you look after class._ " Blake commented in an attempt to comfort the girl, leaning against the wall closest to the door.

There was a short silence, and then a sigh as the reaper slowly closed the wardrobe, seemingly threatening to drop back into her previous sorry state... So imagine Team RWBY's relief when she in fact smiled instead, doing her usual excited skip out onto the corridor as she turned, raising her finger into the air.

" _Team RWBY is back in business!_ "


	9. CHAPTER 9 - No Rest for the Wicked

**AN** **: Sorry again! In case you missed the author's note last chapter (I don't know how you could, but eh...) I am currently extremely preoccupied with other things that include YouTube videos and a college project that demand my full attention, so chapters for this fic are going to come much more slowly for the foreseeable future... Sorry about that.**

 **And oh man, that finale for Volume 3... I can't even...**

 **But yes, a million apologies for the month-long wait. I can't make promises as to when the next chapter will be up, but I hope you enjoy them when they are.**

* * *

 **Roseborne,** _Chapter 9: **"No Rest for the Wicked"**_

* * *

 _"Haven't you seen enough of these wretched beasts, freakish slugs, and mad doctors? Sentence these fiends to death." ~ **Valtr, Master of the League**_

Ruby yawned.

Well, so did everyone else. It was another of Professor Port's classes; which meant another round of dull stories which, in the poor man's mind, was obviously meant to inspire his students and show them the ways of a Huntsman. Unfortunately, these obviously exaggerated tales did little to teach the children something new or useful, and usually caused more time to be wasted than spent **doing** something.

" _And so! as the cretin swiped to strike it's final blow, I valiantly charged with no regard to my own well being, swiping up the child as the Beowolf's blow swooped straight overhead!_ "

Ruby grumbled under her breath, threatening to fall asleep before Weiss nudged her awake again with her elbow. This didn't stop her resting her head on the desk in front of her, though, sighing as she began to rub her arm.

" _Wake up you dolt; Port won't be happy if he catches you_ " The heiress whispered, her eyes flicking between Port and Ruby to make sure that she wasn't about to be caught talking.

" _Ughhhh... But he's so boring_ "

Weiss felt like snapping at Ruby for being so lazy and inconsiderate, but she stopped herself. The girl had been through enough lately, and having a go at her wouldn't be the wisest nor morally correct thing to do. She needed some space, and the Heiress needed to make sure she remembered to provide it. After all, her leader was only just beginning on her path to recovery... And the nudge probably wasn't the best way to support her.

Ruby face-planted the desk in defeat, the words of Professor Port not even registering in her mind as she resisted the urge to fall asleep. She was still feeling quite fatigued from her week of angst, and she groaned after realizing that it was going to take a long while before it was all off her mind. And then she reminded herself of what she had seen the other night, and the constant worry that she had bottled up simply returned. It was a brutal cycle, but she needed to be strong; everyone was rooting for her recovery, supporting her through it... And though Ozpin mentioned that one day she will have a task to fulfill, she needed to ensure that she enjoyed every moment up until then.

In all of her thinking, she had barely noticed the class fall deathly silent. She couldn't even hear any slight shuffling from the students in the room; in fact, if someone was to drop a pin, it wouldn't just make a sound... it would echo around the room. That's how horribly empty it felt.

The reaper slowly raised her head, only for her eyes to meet with an odd sight.

In front of the class, next to Professor Port, stood a tall man. In fact, he was so tall, that the plump teacher looked like a baby nevermore next to him. The man in question wore odd-looking clothes, ones not too dissimilar in style to what she knew her mom and the rest of team STRQ used to wear thanks to the pictures that Uncle Qrow has shown her many times before. On the stranger's back sat an weird-looking frame of sorts, wrapped in what looked like bandages and made from some crude material that Ruby couldn't make out, and at his hip rested a brutal-looking curved blade, akin to a scimitar. The appearance of both the man and his weapon confused the girl; Where had he come from? When had he entered? He looked as though he could have stepped right out of one of Qrow's pictures, after all.

She scanned her eyes around the classroom, where every student, even Cardin, seemed to be fascinated by the new arrival almost as much as the reaper was. Turning to her team, she was worried that she had missed something important, but even Blake, Yang and Weiss seemed to have their eyes fixed on the man. The silence was terrible, and especially nerve-wracking for Ruby, what with it being so sudden. Fortunately, it didn't last much longer.

" _Hello, students._ " He spoke, his voice gruff but at the same time carrying a light, friendly tone, similar to that of a grandfather telling his children a story.

" _As your Professor here had kindly introduced, my name is Gehrman_ " The First Hunter paused for a brief moment, his eyes drifting over every person in the room; with them resting for an uncomfortably long time on Ruby. His expression did not change as he gazed, despite what he saw confirming to him whom in fact she was. Silver eyes. It was definitely her. It was a rare enough trait, after all.

" _This may come as a... bit of a surprise, but your headmaster has appointed me as head of your combat classes from now on. Now, I know this may seem sudden, but I assure you that the reasoning is valid._ " He eyes Ruby once more, his tone lowering slightly, " ** _Very valid._** "

 **/-/-/-/-/**

The hallways were empty... _Good_.

Cinder, carrying a small satchel, made her way towards Team RWBY's dorm. Now was the perfect time to enact the first step of her plan; all of Beacon's students were already in class, and so the majority of the dormitory wing was completely vacant. Turning the corner, her steps took the form of a casual stroll as a means of avoiding suspicion should there be any stragglers about. Moments later, the pyromancer came to a stop outside of the target dorm. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out a tiny needle -the same one that she often used to weave the Dust into her clothing- before placing it into the top of the Scroll reader. It took a little fiddling, but the lightning dust that had been spread upon the needle's tip temporarily overloaded the electronics inside of the lock, causing the magnetic hinges to release and the door to slightly peek open.

She took one last look around her to ensure that she wasn't being watched, quickly slithering inside as she then shut the door behind her. It was time to get to work.

Approaching the clearly unstable bunk beds belonging to the girls, Cinder pulled the satchel from her shoulder, lying it on the mattress in front of her before beginning to unpack. She spread the devices out in front of her, folding her arms; She knew that this would take some time to set up, but she needed more information on this so-called 'Insight', and the poor reaper sure as hell wasn't going to give anything else away. Besides, the pyromancer doubted that Ruby knew much more than she had spouted out the previous night. Cinder had made sure of that...

 **/-/-/-/-/**

 _ **\- Two Hours Later -**_

Gehrman placed himself in the center of the sparring arena, looking up to all of the students sitting around on the rafters above. They all looked very capable, with the exception of the blonde haired fellow sat with his team... But the old hunter reminded himself not to stray from his purpose; while the man did indeed enjoy teaching here again after all of these years, he had a part to play in the grand scheme of things. His eyes fell on Ruby one last time before he began to address the class.

" _As the vast majority of you may know, I will be temporarily taking charge of your Combat and Sparring classes from now on. Your previous teacher, Miss Goodwich, has been granted leave for the duration of my stay. I assure you that I will uphold the same standards of behavior that she did, as well as employing my own methods of teaching. As they say; variety is the spice of life._ "

There was an extremely brief pause as the students in the class murmured and sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance at the change, while a select few, such as Cardin, made their opinion known with a not-so-subtle fist pump into the air. Gehrman grunted, clearing his throat; the action somehow gaining the attention of everyone in the room immediately.

" _Now that introductions are through, I am intrigued to see how you all perform against each-other. That being said, on a field of battle you may not have the choice as to whom it is you fight. With that in mind, I ask for one volunteer to raise their hand and nominate themselves first of all. Then, I will proceed to randomly select someone in the class to pit the aforementioned volunteer against._ "

There was another small round of groans... But Ruby's hand shot up immediately. She was eager to get back into the action, and what better time to do it than now; after all, she had a new teacher to impress.

Gehrman held back a smirk as the reaper volunteered, gesturing her down to the arena. He couldn't help but admire her confidence.


	10. A Public Apology and an Update

Hello everyone.

I've been terrible at keeping my promises, and for that, I'm sorry. I had every intention of bringing this story back and continuing from where I left off after my last update, but I simply could not find the time nor motivation to do so. I have been dealing with depression for the past year or so, and while it is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, it has indeed played a part in my lack of updates. My other story, Raven Brandt, has suffered the same fate, so it isn't exclusive to this fic specifically.

However, I intend to make it up to you.

I am going to **COMPLETELY** rewrite this story. From the ground up. Entirely. Reading through, I've noticed a tonne of stupid mistakes and inconsistencies that I cannot stand for, and that cannot be fixed without totally revamping everything. However, I am willing and able to do so.

Problems with the structure, grammar and such aren't the only reasons as to why I have decided to re-write the fic. My writing ability has significantly improved since I first began to write Roseborne, and I wish to employ these newfound and developed skills in order to improve it.

With this in mind, **I will keep this version up for posterity** , but will also create **an entirely new story on my profile dedicated to the rewrite.**

If any of you are still around and are interested in Roseborne & how the story unfolds, I encourage you to keep an eye on my page for this new version. And again, I am so sorry for my absence and lack of communication. This story, as of posting this update, has been viewed over 18,000 times. That's insane. I can't just leave that sort of popularity behind, because clearly, Roseborne is popular **for a reason**.

Thank you all for your patience,

~ _Remnant_


End file.
